


Chase Your Dream

by IObse33



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Depression, Dreams and Nightmares, Drug Abuse, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 06:47:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IObse33/pseuds/IObse33
Summary: what if you could see your love one last time? What if you could spend a day with them? One more chance. Always one more chance. Chance. Such an addicting game.
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 132





	Chase Your Dream

**Author's Note:**

> \- don't bind with ace bandages!   
> -hc that Charles is trans  
> \- don't abuse alcohol or cough syrup(which used to be extremely addictive/some might still be? Idk)

The grass is long and silky, waving in the wind, vibrant. Everything is vibrant here. The sky nearly turquoise, the greenery emerald. Flowers line the border of the valley. The picnic blanket pure white and cherry red. Sandwiches piled high. The sun bright. Sunbeams dancing merrily. 

Charles practically glowing from his grin of pure joy. Henry Joins him, and they share a lunch. There is no danger. Peace. 

They discuss going on, the latest news. They lay side by side. Hours pass by as they converse, at some point, they hold hands. 

The sun drifts across the sky, blues turning orange, greens blending with shadows. Evening comes and with it sunset, a beautiful rainbow. 

He can't let this opportunity go again, and so Henry gathers his courage, rolling over to hover above Charles. Charles blushes rose, they whisper confessions. And then, a kiss. 

Love. 

-

The world is dull. The blue is heavy and suffocating like deep ocean. Very little light seeps in around the drawn curtains, everything in the room casting long shadows blending into more shadows blending into more shadows. 

Henry opens bleary eyes, rolling over to hug onto Charles. He hugs empty air and gasps. He lays for half an hour, fingers to his lips, pondering his loneliness. 

How was he alone? Where had Charles gone? They had such a nice-

Such a great plan. That's right. 

Such a horrible plan. 

Henry drags himself out of bed, goes for a walk to the bar. Now that he has remembered, he wants to forget again. 

-

They're celebrating. Aftercare of all the surgery has finished. There's nothing left to do. No more to change. Today, Charles is freed. 

Today, Charles is biologically as close to a man as he can get. 

They are in the living room. Lights on, air thrumming with energy. They're on the burgundy couch, having just moved from the bathroom, where, for the first time in years, Charles could look his reflecting in the eyes, nothing obstructing the view of his torso. 

There is no arousal. There is no Sexual intent. Just celebrating. Just worshiping. Tender kisses all over, tender kisses from Henry, for the man he loves so dearly. For the Body Charles can finally live and be comfortable in. Just relief. 

It's only hours later of soft lips and ginger hugs that they go out to celebrate, late night drinking at a gay bar. 

-

Henry tears through the closet. He sorts every piece of apparel. Everything that is Charles is shoved into a garbage bag. Every shirt and belt, even the ones he used to love stealing. 

He makes his way into the bathroom where the lighting is too sharp and the porcelain counter too cold. He digs through the cabinets, medical supplies, cleaning supplies. Chemicals. Chemicals. 

The ace bandage. 

Charles never got to… He wore these to the very end. He was never free of himself. 

Henry can't stop the tears. What could have been. That damn dream. That could have been them. If he was only still here, if they only had the money this year. 

Its as if all the despair Charles must have felt over himself was filling Henry. One of the mans few life goals, something Henry would promise. Suddenly, the mirror is his enemy too. Taunting Charles, taunting him with his own reflection of a man who couldn't comfort him enough. 

Henry shatters the mirror. 

-

"You can join me, you know. Its easy."

Henry nods, watching out the window of the helicopter. He's not sure where they are. The ground is a tropical forest. Rivers twirl through the land, clouds misty and sparkling. The sky is like a beautiful ocean surface. 

They're going everywhere and nowhere, flying aimlessly. Flying for the sake of freedom. High above grounded earth. Rules don't apply here. Stereotypes don't suffocate here in the freshest Oxygen. 

They kiss easy and slow, helicopter forgotten. Henry seated on Charles lap, pinning him against the chair. 

The Helicopter starts to dip, and they lose altitude. Faster they speed towards earth, yet there is no panic. Only grievance. Charles holds Henry close, chuckling to himself. 

"See? See how easy it is? To join me?"

-

Henry sits at the dining room table, staring at his dinner. A simple microwavable meal. The colors look vibrant yet artificial. Everything pales in comparison to them. He barely eats any, spends more time thinking. 

Charles wouldn't ask him to do that. Right? Charles would want him to live his life. Right? God, please, wouldn't Charles want him to find joy again? 

But finding joy, could be finding Charles…

No. Not those thoughts. Not those. He still has a job, once his leave ends. He still has this house to care for. He still has his life to live. 

But what for? 

Fuck. His mind is playing games. That can't be the real Charles. 

Just one more time. Maybe it is him. He has to check. 

He leaves his now cold dinner on the table. Opens cabinets within the house, searching. He's slept too much to slumber on his own. 

He collapses on the couch with a glass of vodka, one too many doses of cough syrup. 

-

The lake shimmers the reflection of the sun. The mountains are a deep blue against the sky. Below them is a beach, dandy and rocky, and under water is the mud, sticky and stubborn. 

The Crown Victoria Henry stole is parked facing an overseeing cliff. Him and Charles lay on the hood, looking out across the view. The day is hot, made hotter still by them laying over the running engine. The music plays loud, vibrations from bass coursing through them. 

In t-shirts and shorts, it's not like they can't swim, and Henry hops off the car to turn it off. Locking the vehicle, he gestures for Charles to follow. 

Together they search for a trail down the steep hillside, tumbling down it and helping each other balance. Henry carefully climbing down to the lakeside. Charles distracted, eagerly pointing out all the wildlife, stumbling into Henry. 

The water is refreshing, a breath of fresh air. They float away together, farther and farther from land. Together, they swim away. 

-

Henry wakes with a groggy mind. He feels weighted, as if tied to a metal ball under water. His head pounds with each inhalation, and the ringing of his phone is sharp and piercing. 

He silences the phone, grateful he turned down the screen brightness. A text stating he's terminated from his job. Another plea to find help. 

How many weeks has it been? 

He's fatigued, drops the phone on the plush carpeting. Exhausted, he rolls over and hugs onto the pillows beside him. Charles. Imagining is Charles, he tries to disappear. 

The pain is too much, keeps him conscious. When he leaves bed, he steps on his phone. The glaring crack of a resulting noise causes the man to jump, but otherwise he could care less about the phones death. 

He drinks some water, barely holding himself up. He can't keep anything else down. Nothing except liquids. He looks at the floor and realises there's blood under his skeletal foot. Glass from the phone. 

He faints before he can care for the wound. 

-

It's pitch black. A faint glowing trail the only light. It winds throughout the void, and Henry follows for lack of anything better to do. Time is vast, hours endless yet plentiful. Henry feels neither weak nor strong, as if he hosts no physical embodiment. 

Headphones lay in front of him. Red and cracked. Dents litter the object, and Henry picks them up. The last pair Charles ever wore. The closest thing he has to the last time he saw his love, Henry puts on the headphones and continues his journey. 

Eventually, he can't traverse forwards. He floats in place. He truss to twist around, kiss down to raise the faint path is gone. There's nothing to see but black. Are his eyes even open? 

The light is blinding, the heat inescapable. He's burning, oh God he's melting. He can't see anything, his eyes must be gone. Light? Dark? Where is he? A deafening scream. Charles? Himself? 

Make it stop. 

He's pulled into a hug, he feels numb, he opens his eyes to white. He opens his eyes to Charles hugging him tight. They pull back, and the headphones Henry is wearing are unscathed. Charles takes them with a grin. 

"Hey, thanks buddy! I've been looking for these!"

_ What are you doing here?  _

Henry nodded, moving in for another hug. They were both here. They were both fine. Neither of them were harmed. Everything was okay. 

_ Please don't, Henry, not yet.  _

"-how'd you find these?"

Everything spins. Henry tries to find the Charles echoing around the air like an omnipresent being. The Charles in front of him freezes. How can everything be moving when everything is white? Through sensory deprivation he's overwhelmed, and Henry falls to his knees. 

-

Just make it to the door. 

One step after another. 

One. Two. Three. Stumble. 

It's okay. Just make it to the door. 

The glass of old bottles of rum clink and shout as they roll into each other, jostled by the feet shuffling through them. 

Amidst the mess leaks cough syrup from nearly empty bottles. 

Henry opens the door to the delivery on the front porch. It's a wonder no one has looked at his shopping history and cut off his account. They must simply not have the time. 

Just one more chug. Just one more swallow. The rum burns, spitting fire. The syrup soothes, choosing and suffocating. They cancel each other out, one after the other. 

-

_ Henry? What are you doing here? What? No. Henry your still young. I'm okay. See? Just wait and I'll see you again. You'll see me again.  _

_ Buddy, don't give up. Don't make me do this. You can recover. I know it's hard but I'm watching over- _

_ What? I'd never encourage you to join me. Are you sure it wasn't a dream?  _

_ Nononono, Henry listen, stop. Breathe. Henry.  _

_ "Charles?" _

_ Oh… _

_ "Is… is it really you this time?" _


End file.
